Documents to create before death?

[TopHatFox]

Probably a living will, death will, instructions for burial, a "what to do if I'm not conscious" document, etc.

What documents are useful to create while alive? Could be a fun writing project~

[James_0011]

I'd suggest taking a bunch of magic mushrooms, you'll stop worrying about this 'death' thing.

[The Old Man]

This would be called Estate Planning. I generally find NOLO to be pretty useful in legal matters.
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/ ... ts-estates

[sfchristo]

Besides the usual: will, living will, advanced health directive, financial and health POA (power of attorney) (depends on your state) I'd add at least one more. A brief document explaining where "everything is"/an inventory of things that would make life MUCH easier for people: lists of passwords, bank accounts, where the safe deposit box is and so on.

The big thing for me was when my father died suddenly at age 57 leaving behind my mother and 4 adult children. He ran a small business for 30 years and it would have been enormously helpful just to know the physical location of various keys and book keeping logs. Plus even a one or two page summary of the nuts and bolts of his daily and monthly business practices would have saved my family enormous guesswork and effort (trying to run, appraise the value, and then sell off the business).

His brother died at 47 leaving a wife, two minor children, and NO will. Oh, and he was my father's business partner - with no partnership agreement. No preset way or guide on how to dissolve the business. This really messed things up in my family - FOREVER (court cases, newly minted "EX" relatives).

So, if your life is simple (you are an unpartnered student or a work-a-day office worker etc) then the standard papers should do it but if you have more complexity, you're doing everyone else a huge service by listing out the whereabouts of keys, bills, accounts, and various other assets.

And setting the record straight will help prevent arguments when nerves are frayed and tensions are high (because you just died) "Says here that Dad wanted to be cremated and have his ashes scattered." That settles the matter. People aren't likely to fight over that. That kind of thing won't be part of a will but it could be part of a paper of final wishes. So much better to write it out and sign it instead of just telling a friend or relative verbally.

Some people won't do any of this because of a deep seated feeling/superstition that by doing it, they'll be giving the universe permission to kill them (or something).

OP: You're not planning on leaving any time soon, are you?

[TopHatFox]

Besides the usual: will, living will, advanced health directive, financial and health POA (power of attorney) (depends on your state) I'd add at least one more. A brief document explaining where "everything is"/an inventory of things that would make life MUCH easier for people: lists of passwords, bank accounts, where the safe deposit box is and so on.

Haha I've been meaning to make the "where everything is" document for a few years now; it'd be nice to know where all the damn passwords are at now.

And nope, I want to live a GREAT life 'till say, around 100. I want it filled with many loving partners, thru hiking, sailing around the world, fighting for a more equitable and sustainable world, hard work, green tea, and good books. ^^

[Scott 2]

The tech savvy people I know use an encrypted password manager tool, like last pass, to track that stuff. Very useful.

[batbatmanne]

The tech savvy people I know use an encrypted password manager tool, like last pass, to track that stuff. Very useful.

That sounds like a good idea. Set up a digital dead man's switch that triggers every month or so and releases your master password that gives access to everything.

[DonaldButler]

The simplest and the best thing to do before you die is to create a will so that your family is saved from the possible legal hassles!

[BlueNote]

I keep a death folder with all the important stuff (account numbers, legal docs, full personal balance sheet etc.)

Safe deposit boxes are pretty much the perfect place to store this kind of stuff.

It was a drag to set it up because you're thinking about dying the whole time but I'm glad I have it. My wife knows exactly where to find the file if I die.

I've seen friends and relatives die without leaving behind any death related documents and it can get MESSY! You'd be surprised at how fast people you barely knew or people you hated will come out of the woodwork to try and get some stuff. One friend who recently passed on had a license to grow marijuana for medical purposes. Very soon after his death someone broke into his home and stole all his legal marijuana paraphernalia (death file wouldn't have helped here). I met an Aunt for the first time at my Grandmothers funeral , she was there to get stuff and collect on her inheritance, I never saw her again (I was surprised that Grandma left her anything).

I used this series of articles as a guide for setting up my death file: http://www.thebluntbeancounter.com/2013 ... -your.html

[Western Red Cedar]

I'm interested in DIY resources for estate planning or wills. This seemed to be the most relevant thread. Does anyone have any resources or recommendations on creating a legally sound will or estate plan?

[chenda]

I'm interested in DIY resources for estate planning or wills. This seemed to be the most relevant thread. Does anyone have any resources or recommendations on creating a legally sound will or estate plan?

You can write your own will, there are books and online resources about it. You could just
use someone else's lawyer drafted will as a template and just adapt it.

That said, if your estate is likely to be complex (e.g. multijuristictional, unusual assets, ex-spouces, or likely hit an inheritance tax threshold) then I'd get professional advice. It could be worth every penny.

[Stahlmann]

I'm interested in DIY resources for estate planning or wills. This seemed to be the most relevant thread. Does anyone have any resources or recommendations on creating a legally sound will or estate plan?

I hope that less cynic lawyers offer free consultations as pro public bono in your area/country... or cynic lawyers want to show their good side ("charity is giving back publicly what has been stolen privately" some kind leftist thinker on vanity class behaviour).

I'm not sure how they check your material status (income/assets), but you can always create new bank account and show them only part of your wealth or try to game the system with some gamesmanship I don't know, because I'm not lawyer .

[Ego]

This is the best answer I've found.

This would be called Estate Planning. I generally find NOLO to be pretty useful in legal matters.
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/ ... ts-estates

[Western Red Cedar]

Thanks all. I'll check out the Nolo link in more detail. Fortunately my situation is fairly simple, and I've actively tried to keep it that way. My strategy is to just get a basic will together as a first step. That may lead to working with a professional at a later date if DW and I want to create a more detailed estate plan.

Happy to check out other websites or resources if other members have additional suggestions.

[bostonimproper]

Not sure what Nolo and the like offer, but when we got our estate plan together, it included much more than just a will. We set up our will, trust, power of attorney, advanced healthcare directives and healthcare proxy, and guardianship. Also instructions on how to designate our beneficiaries, which you can/should do with or without an estate plan.

What we were told is that the trust is extremely important, otherwise with just a will your assets go through probate. In Massachusetts, probate on average takes 9-12 months plus all the attorney and court fees on top that can otherwise be avoided. Trusts are considered “more complex” documents than just wills. We were quoted ~$1100 for a will and ~$3500 for full estate planning.

[WFJ]

I'm interested in DIY resources for estate planning or wills. This seemed to be the most relevant thread. Does anyone have any resources or recommendations on creating a legally sound will or estate plan?

Every state is different. Difficult to generalize.

[MBBboy]

Quicken makes estate planning software. We also got a free will done by being SoFi members (they partner with a software firm). Basic is free, and then they try to up sell other stuff you may or may not need. We only did the will.

Now that we have a kid, about to sit down with a friend who runs their own firm, and does estate planning. Pump the network!